Number of non-fatal overdoses Toronto paramedics respond to is declining, city data shows

CBC

04-04-2025

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Recent city data shows the number of non-fatal suspected overdoses paramedics respond to has declined over the last six months.
The figures were collected by Toronto Public Health in collaboration with Toronto Paramedic Services using the calls it receives each month.
In September, there were 357 reported non-fatal suspected overdoses, a number that fell to 163 in February. Fatal overdoses during that period were comparable.
The decrease in non-fatal overdoses is welcome, but it's too early to celebrate, says community worker Diana Chan McNally.
"The death toll remains extremely high," she told CBC Toronto, comparing current rates to what they were 10 years ago, before the drug toxicity crisis began to escalate.
According to the Toronto Overdose Information System, there were 137 opioid toxicity deaths in 2015 compared to 528 probable and confirmed deaths tallied in 2023 — up nearly four-fold.
The latest data was published at the same time the province is undergoing a significant drug policy shift.
The government is funding the transformation of supervised drug consumption sites into homelessness and treatment centres known as HART Hubs. Some health-care workers and advocates worry about what kind of impact it will have on overdose rates.
"I think you're going to see that there will be a steep uprise, not just a moderate one," Chan McNally said. "We've eliminated a life-saving service which isn't being replicated."
WATCH | Rough start to HART Hubs, officials say:
Ontario opens homelessness and addiction hubs, replacing consumption sites
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At a news conference on Tuesday, Toronto's Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Na-Koshie Lamptey also voiced concern, saying that an increase in overdose deaths is probable.
"To date, across our supervised consumption sites there has never been a fatal overdose, so there's strong evidence that they work," Lamptey said.
CBC Toronto asked the province whether it had data showing overdoses would not rise with the closing of supervised consumption sites.
In an email, the minister of health's press secretary Ema Popovic wrote that the nine transitioning sites will ensure "the continuity of mental health support services to help people break the cycle of addiction while protecting children and families from violent crime and dangerous public drug use that occurred at drug injection sites located near schools and daycares."
In 2023, Karolina Huebner-Makurat, a 44-year-old mother of two, died in hospital after she was hit by a stray bullet near a Leslieville supervised consumption site.
Her death sparked a provincial review of the sites, which was followed by legislation that bans any supervised consumption sites within 200 metres of a school or daycare.
What's driving the 'mysterious' decrease?
Health-care experts and community workers, including Lamptey and Chan McNally, say they've been tracking a dip in non-fatal overdoses across provincial jurisdictions. However, they can't decipher a clear explanation.
"Unfortunately, it remains really mysterious," Chan McNally said, pointing out that policy approaches differ across the country.
Coun. Chris Moise, chair of Toronto's board of health, says he attributes the city's numbers to "the hard work of our frontline workers … and the education and the trust that they have in us and our partners. That's really been the driving force, I believe."
Hayley Thompson, the managing director of Toronto's Drug Tracking Service housed within St. Michael's Hospital, says she could only speculate based on what her team is seeing inside the drug supply.
"It would be reasonable to assume, based on the data from our service, that it could be as a result of a decrease in the actual amount of fentanyl in the fentanyl supply," Thompson said.
"But that's not to say overdoses aren't the only adverse health outcome that results from the toxic drug supply crisis."
Thompson says her team is seeing benzodiazepines present in up to 40 per cent of expected fentanyl samples and veterinary tranquilizers in over 80 per cent of samples.
On Wednesday in York Region, police issued a warning after three people overdosed on the same day in different communities due to tainted fentanyl.
Because the unregulated drug supply is volatile, it makes it hard to know what to anticipate and plan for, Thompson says.